


How the Solar Eclipse Began

by swankinator64



Category: Hetalia - Fandom, Hetalia: Axis Powers, Hetalia: World Series
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-12
Updated: 2019-09-12
Packaged: 2020-10-17 07:50:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,610
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20617523
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/swankinator64/pseuds/swankinator64
Summary: This is quite simply a GANG AU based off of a group roleplay I am hosting with my friends. This backstory describes the events that lead up to the two men, Berwald (Sweden) and Mathias (Denmark) leading separate gangs against each other.





	How the Solar Eclipse Began

**so·lar e·clipse**

  


_/ˈsōlər əˈklips,ēˈklips/_

_An eclipse that occurs when a portion_  
of the Earth is engulfed in a shadow  
cast by the moon which fully or partially  
blocks sunlight.

This is the tale of two Scandinavian boys:  
Mathias Køhler, and Berwald Oxenstierna.  
This entails how two friends attached at  
the hip, sharing a happy and flourishing life  
now oppose each other.

⠀⠀

**As Children**

Mathias and Berwald met in school. Berwald and his father had moved to Næstved, Denmark when he was the tender age of five. Mathias was seven at the time. They met on the playground at recess because Mathias was a social butterfly who happened to notice that Berwald was new there. 

He was quick to notice that Berwald was younger, shy and lonely. He also spoke very little Danish. Since Berwald learned slower and was still struggling to even learn Swedish, Mathias pledged and vowed that he would spend every recess teaching him common Danish terms and objects, as well as how to say them.  


They were quick to grow close, and they became very attached; practically at the hip. Berwald would stay at Mathias’ house often. He got close to Mathias’ family; Mathias had a younger sister as well. Berwald grew attached to Mathias’ family as if it were his own. This was because his father was always working.

Being a single father in a foreign country meant that he was working two jobs to keep him and his son fed and well inhabited. Berwald fell into a depression since he missed his father so dearly. It was rare for him to see him while he was still awake, though he greatly appreciated what he did for the two of them.  


While they were both going to school, another foreign exchange student was enlisted in the school from Norway; his name was Lukas. Lukas fit into the friend group like a missing puzzle piece. They grew very close and very quickly, at that. Mathias spent a lot of time teaching both of them Danish and even helping them with homework. They did just about everything together.  


However, three years after Berwald met Mathias and Lukas, there was a day Berwald came home from school thinking his father was simply at work. Though, the police ended up showing up at the door of the home, informing him that his father had passed away. They explained that he had been running late for a very important meeting, and got into a fatal car accident.

Berwald stayed at Mathias’ house that night, being absolutely devastated. He ended up staying with him for the next few days without going to school. He then finds out a little while later that he and Mathias would be moving to the United States. 

Berwald’s father not only worked two jobs to make a living, but he was putting a lot of money into savings so he and Berwald could travel to and live in the United States to get better work opportunities. His grandparents also chipped in, as well as Mathias’ family.  


Berwald didn’t want to leave, however. He didn’t want to travel to America without his grandparents who were still living in Sweden. Mathias explained to Berwald that this was what his father wanted, as well as his grandparents, which is why they saved up so much money in the first place. He also explained that he would be living in the family, and that they would always write to his family back at home.  


Berwald was eventually convinced, though he had a very hard time dealing with being away from his home and leaving his family behind. Since Lukas and his family could not afford the expenses of traveling and real estate overseas, they simply moved back to their old hometown in Norway. The boys moved to Richmond, Virginia, much more near the mountainside. They chose this, due to it being the most similar in environment to their old home.

**As Teenagers:**

As they grew into their teen years, Berwald grew to become more isolated and cold. Two years after they moved to Virginia, Berwald found out that both his grandparents passed away from a deadly illness that they both ended up passing onto each other. He was unable to afford to fly back to Sweden to attend their funeral. This was around when he began to grow as isolated as he was. This occurred while they attended junior high and high school.  


Once Mathias graduated, he had no plans to go to college; he planned to serve in the military. Which meant that for the following two years, Berwald would be by himself. While Mathias was enlisted into the military, Lukas ended up flying to Virginia to live there, mainly to live near his two best friends.

He did this because he had applied to the University of Virginia and got accepted. During the next two years, Lukas and Berwald’s bond grew closer and stronger. They would have been inseparable, if Berwald hadn’t been as awkward as he was.  


Lukas attended college up until he heard that his younger brother, Emil was being flown out to Virginia as well to live with him. Since Emil couldn’t live in the dormitory with Lukas, and Lukas wanted to be able to support him and his tuition, he dropped out of college to take on full-time work in order to provide for him and his brother.  


Two years later, Berwald graduated from high school. He could not afford college tuition, and wasn’t necessarily applicable for student loans, so he also decided to enlist in the military as well. It took a long while, but both Berwald and Mathias eventually ran into each other once again. Needless to say, it was a happy reunion. Mathias was at a higher ranking than Berwald, due to him being there longer, so they didn’t quite see each other often.

**As Adults:**

Mathias and Berwald remained serving  
in the military for two more years until…  
everything changed. It was almost like  
a revolution, of sorts…

Earlier, in Mathias’ starting year in the military, he was officially diagnosed with duplicate identity disorder (DID), which meant exactly what it sounded like. He had a regular personality most times, but his other personality that had formed during his serving time would pop out and take over him as if it were the act of a supernatural being. 

His other personality was evidently “triggered”, or activated by any sort of violence and aggression. His second personality is unlike his primary one; he is violent, sadistic, and a killing machine.  


There was one day where Berwald and Mathias had ran into each other and were alone in the locker room preparing for inspection day. They began to have a discussion… that turned into an argument… that turned into a fight. Berwald ended up speaking up about how he didn’t want to go to America.

Mathias reiterated that his family saved up because that was what his father wanted for him. Berwald then argued that Mathias didn’t bring his grandparents and he couldn’t attend their funeral because he was forced by him. Mathias argued that Berwald was ungrateful because his own family “went to the ends of the Earth” to support him.  


Berwald stated he loved him like a brother, but he tore him away from his family and now they were all dead. Mathias argued that his own family was the closest Berwald had to a family, and that he should learn to appreciate it, to which Berwald shouted that he was not his family and never would be.  


Evidently, this was riling Mathias enough to the point where his unidentified second personality jumped out. He launched himself at Berwald, his personality switched, his morals gone, and his soldier mode on.

They fought violently and like wild, feral animals for several minutes in the locker room, eventually involving their rifles. Berwald ended up cutting into Mathias’ cheek with the barrel of his rifle quite deeply; enough to leave a thick scar in the future. Angry and bleeding, Mathias flew into a frenzy, and made a hasty decision that would change his and Berwald’s lives forever.  


He slammed the butt of the rifle into Berwald’s head so hard that it actually damaged his brain. Since Berwald had begun to shriek in pain, the entire rest of the military branch had rushed into the locker room to witness the commotion’s source. Both men were ripped apart from each other, and their general had to intervene on the situation.

He examined the scene, seeing blood smeared on lockers and drops on the floor, though more importantly, he saw Berwald bleeding heavily from his head. He also saw fresh blood staining the butt of Mathias’ rifle and put two and two together.  


Mathias was kicked from the military and sent to court, in which he lost his case shortly thereafter, and was sentenced to an original length of ten years in prison for second degree aggravated assault. Berwald withdrew from the military, since he was put into one of the state’s best hospitals. It was discovered that the damage done to Berwald’s brain was so severe, that it gave him a speech disorder called _dysarthria._

Dysarthria is a condition in which the brain is damaged in a manner that weakens the muscles in a person’s face, neck, tongue, throat, or chest. This can cause slurred or slowed speech, mumbling, or quiet speech. From that day forward, Berwald has had a speech disorder that prevents from speaking everything he would like to say. He mumbles and speaks quietly, as well as in short sentences spread out in a lengthened period of time.  


Two years later, Mathias was bailed out of jail by his family, though they made an agreement with Mathias that in return for them bailing him out, they would be allowed to cut all contact with him. He would not be allowed to step foot into their home again, or see any of their future family as well. They labeled him as a disappointment and someone they definitely didn’t raise.

For that time, he had moved all of his belongings that were being stored in their home and ultimately got permission to move in to Lukas’ home temporarily. Since Berwald had received a large grant from the military due to his injury, he used a bit of it to rent out an apartment near the outskirts of a town further out from Richmond.  


Mathias was struggling to find a job, since when companies did background checks on him, the case of his aggravated assault caused them all to turn him down. So, he turned to the utmost shadiest forms of work possible. Drug dealing, weapon auctions, street raids, and more importantly… _gang activity._

That’s right-- he joined a gang. It was called _“Onyx”._ He was a fighter, and the absolute strongest of the other gang members, discluding the leader. He eventually became the right-hand man of the leader due to his loyalty and strength.  


However, it was one evening that the city’s two opposing gangs went at another round of battle, which ended with Onyx’s rival being murdered in full. Every single last member of the opposing gang was slaughtered. Though, as a painful tradeoff, the leader of Onyx got taken down with them.

This meant that Mathias himself would take over and become the new leader of the gang. To begin, he renamed the gang _“Helios”,_ named after the Titan God of the Sun. He believed he had a fiery spirit that was unmatched, and completely paralleled with the ancient legend.  


However, the remaining members of the previous “Onyx” didn’t like the sound of that very much, so they pledged a strike against Mathias, vowing they’d leave if he didn’t convert back to their old ways. Out of pure anger, his second personality came out to play, causing Mathias to slaughter those who protested against him. This only left two others remaining that proved to be loyal.

He also came to the conclusion that his second personality was nothing like his own, and so he decided to give it a name. He decided on _“M”._ It was the perfect alias to hide under and protect his real name from the police force, as well as the perfect way to state that his second personality was still him, but not completely.  


Since he became a gang leader, he became highly respected for creating a strong and revolutionary change for the city’s strongest gang, as well as leading them into victory, so he was granted the ownership of the old Onyx headquarters. He renovated the building to give it more of his own personality implemented into it, and receive large sums of payment every month. He claims it was him crawling from the bottom to the top.  


On his very first night raid with his new gang, he decided he would scout the streets to recruit new members and grow a very large foundation for himself. He approached someone whom he saw wandering the streets only to find out the man looked… familiar. _Too familiar._

_It was Berwald._

Mathias was in shock at first, since he hadn’t seen the man since he saw him on the floor of the locker room, writhing in pain and profusely bleeding from the head. His first instinct was to strike up a conversation with Berwald, but as soon as Berwald saw Mathias’ face, it activated a fight or flight response within him. 

After all, the last time he saw Mathias’ face was when he was looking down at his writhing body on the floor, his baby blues wide and knuckles white around his bloodied rifle in complete fear and regret of what he had done.  


In response to his fight or flight, Berwald launched himself at Mathias to get him back for quite literally taking his words away. They fought for a few minutes before Mathias pinned Berwald beneath him on the floor, obviously overpowering him.

He then asked if he would like to join his gang, since he felt that he was strong and worthy enough. In response, Berwald stated that Mathias was crazy and ultimately declined. He returned home that evening, however, and curiously researched the history of gangs in their town.  


It was the next evening that Berwald marched directly up to Helios’ headquarters and knocked on the front door. A very surprised, yet pleased Mathias answered it, assuming that he had changed his mind and was willing to join forces with him. After all, Mathias didn’t hate or despise Berwald.

However, to his shock and dismay, Berwald pledged that he would be reviving the name of the last slaughtered gang, _“Phoenix”,_ and making it his own. He pledged that he would forever be against him until the day he slaughtered him with his own hands or weapon. He pledged to never forgive him until he returned to the depths of hell he came from.  


They both agreed that they would take the respective aliases of _“M”_ and _“B”._ Berwald decided that he would rename his now renewed gang _“Callisto”,_ after Jupiter’s second largest moon. He did this because he wanted to be known for being a cool and collected, yet extremely large force. Also because him and Mathias-- or the sun and the moon, were completely opposite anyways.

From then on, they have been opposed against one another, being the respective leaders of their own gangs. For some reason, this excited Mathias more than the thought of Berwald joining forces with him. Since, perhaps…

_They were meant to be enemies from the very start._


End file.
